Elevator Conversations
by shannyfish
Summary: Caitlin and Cisco are trapped in an elevator together. Prompt of "Knights of Cydonia" by Muse given in writer's group for flash fiction.


"How long are we stuck in this elevator?"

"Until I fix it…OR until Barry can get us out."

Caitlin sighed. "Are you sure this isn't some elaborate hoax in order to get us to talk about some random subject of your choosing?" Her tone was quite annoyed and she was even more suspicious as she stood there with her arms crossed and toe tapping as she watched Cisco work on the panel.

"Do you REALLY think that I need to go to the point of elevator failure to hash out one of those conversations?" Cisco asked, but he seemed to be enjoying their confined time a bit too much.

Looking around, Caitlin just hoped that there wasn't going to be any kind of crazy idea like climbing up through the elevator hatch. She knew that people did that kind of thing in movies and on television shows, but Caitlin really hadn't had enough coffee to be reenacting a scene like that. She definitely wasn't wearing the outfit or shoes for it. "How about we talk about something normal?"

"Like the weather?"

"Okay, maybe something less normal…"

"There's always our love lives."

"Pass."

"Dinosaurs."

"Dinosaurs was the topic of our lives for two hours and forty-three minutes yesterday," Caitlin reminded. Cisco always had interesting things to talk about, but not all of them interested her…and it was always a completely different conversation when it was just the two of them. When Barry was included or even Felicity, it spurred into something greater and better and it came to the point where Caitlin could just sit back and be entertained by them. That wasn't the case currently.

"Really? We didn't even hit the three hour mark?"

"Nope."

"Something we haven't discussed before," Cisco mused as he sat back, taking a moment of time away from the open panel as he seemed to ponder. "I mean, we've totally covered all of the more awesome typical subjects…"

"Super heroes seem to be the primary subject."

"How about past super heroes?"

"Past. Super. Heroes?" Caitlin questioned slowly and wondered if this was really going to be a conversation she wanted to have. She would much rather the elevator car just start moving. She slid down to sit down, her legs extended, and fixed the skirt of her dress. "Okay…let's start this on a trial basis… What did you have in mind?"

"Obviously the kind of the non-metahuman variety."

"Well, the Arrow isn't a metahuman."

"True." Cisco went back to work on the panel. "I was thinking more like knights."

"Knights? Like shining armor and lances?"

"That's what I was thinking…unless you want some other knight topic? Song titles? Movie references?" he offered out quickly. "'Knights of Cydonia' by Muse comes to mind first for songs and then there are so many King Arthur type movies I could reference." Cisco paused for a moment. "Or we could do night…like astronomy…"

Caitlin let her face fall into her hands. This was going to be a long, long, long time of captivity. She knew that it could be worse. It could always be worse. Today just wasn't her day. She'd had a hard night and had ended up drinking almost an entire bottle of wine on an empty stomach and then had eventually passed out only to wake to her work alarm and to find that she'd set the alarm incorrectly, so she'd woken far too late and she'd never removed her make-up from the night before. She'd had like one cup of coffee and it just wasn't enough at this point. She'd planned on going over Barry's latest blood work and in general, hiding in her office in peace in between other cups of coffee.

"Let's just go with knights in general," Caitlin finally spoke up.

"I always wanted a sword when I was little."

"I always wanted to be a princess…with a sword."

"Fierce…and likely sassy."

"I'm not sassy…"

"Have you met you?" Cisco asked as he looked back over his shoulder at her. "You might hide it all pretty well on a day to day basis, but you're fierce and sassy…and sometimes you can be downright scary…"

Caitlin just stared at him in disbelief. She really needed more coffee. "I think you're just trying to compliment me in some twisted way."

Cisco frowned in response and then shrugged before turning back to the panel. "Hey, if you don't see it…you don't see it…you can ask Barry…or Felicity…or pretty much anyone who knows you—"

"So, basically Barry and Felicity."

"Joe really doesn't count," Cisco brought up. "He hasn't spent enough one on one time with you."

"Joe's sort of like a knight."

"True. He carries a gun around instead of a sword or a lance…and he technically carries a shield…I mean, don't they call their badges shields still? Because…they have like the police shield on it?" He paused what he was doing for a moment and Caitlin had a feeling that he was waiting to hear some kind of comment on it.

"That sounds about right…at least as far as cop shows go."

"It's definitely a question to ask Joe or Eddie next time."

Caitlin sighed. "You and your random questions."

"It's not my fault that inquiring minds need to know things… I mean, how else am I expected to fill my knowledge base unless to ask questions and get answers?"

He was right.

Of course he was right.

It was Cisco.

She was just grumpy and she knew it. None of this was Cisco's fault. It was just not a good day for her to be trapped in an elevator with him. Though, Cisco was definitely a person that she'd WISH to be trapped with (instead of being trapped alone). So, she figured that the best way to get through the situation was to play along. "So, knights… I did like the King Arthur mythology in school, though I was always conflicted about the whole thing with Lancelot, Arthur, and Guinevere. I mean…I get that Lancelot was Arthur's best friend…but I mean, maybe she really loved both of them…or there's something missing from the story."

"Well, you know…most stories or history are written by the winning side of things, so there's going to be some kind of bias or prejudice…there's going to be some kind of twist to it…whether it be truth, lies, or embellishment. I mean, we can never know…" Cisco sighed and stopped what he was doing, he turned around and stared at Caitlin, his back against the nearby lift wall. "Don't think we're getting out that way."

Her sigh echoed his. "Please don't say we have to go through the top panel…"

"We don't have to go through the top panel."

"Thank God."

"Guess we just have to hope that Barry gets back here soon…or we contact the CCPD."

"Yeah…a bit embarrassing…and awkward, isn't it?"

"Probably."

"Let's just talk a bit more before we go to those extremes…"

Cisco was quiet for a moment, his arms crossing over his chest. "Did you ever watch 'Gargoyles'? I really appreciated their whole Avalon and three fates storyline."

Caitlin just stared at him.

"We're going to add that to the list of shows that we need to marathon…"

Caitlin just sighed and looked upward. She really needed more coffee. Suddenly, she realized that she also had to pee. This was not a good thing. Closing her eyes, she tried not to think about it. Maybe if she distracted herself, then she wouldn't REALLY need to go.

As if some God where watching over them, the elevator suddenly started to move. "Thank you," Caitlin whispered.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Whoever made the elevator move."

"What if it was me?" Caitlin glared at him. "You were just sitting there…talking about marathoning shows."

"Maybe I'm really a metahuman."

"I think I would have noticed."

"Iris didn't notice about Barry…" "Point taken," Caitlin said. "But I work with you EVERY day…pretty much ALL day."

"Still…" Caitlin just stared at him.

* * *

The End


End file.
